When word started to spread that Warren Spector, the mind behind classic games like "Deus Ex" and "Thief," was working on a title starring Mickey Mouse, it was, well, surprising. After all, those games aren't exactly safe for all ages, and Spector is known for creating new and interesting worlds. How would he and his team fare with an established, family-friendly franchise? The answer can be found in the playing of "Disney Epic Mickey," a game which unfortunately fails more often than it succeeds.

It's been seven years since gamers have had a "Golden Sun" game to walk around with, but Camelot and Nintendo have again teamed up to offer another in a line of great portable RPGs with the release of "Golden Sun: Dark Dawn." Familiar faces, places and controls should have longtime fans feeling right at home, but for a series with so much history, is this new DS iteration a good jumping off point for new fans?

For years, fans of racing sims have had a particularly strange conundrum. Their entire world has essentially been boiled down into two titles, the "Gran Turismo" series and the "Forza Mortorsport" line, but one of those (the former) has been so exceptional that nobody really minds. The best racing sim series out there returns with "Gran Turismo 5," the title's first entry in six years after a parade of near-disasters as well as its first PS3 exclusive and the first to feature a number of new licenses (including NASCAR, a clear nod to American racing enthusiasts for what is otherwise a very Euro-centric game). But is "Gran Turismo 5" merely a "Madden"-esque roster upgrade (more cars and more tracks) or does it reinvent the wheel?

Blending reading with pointing and clicking sounds like it's a recipe for failure when it comes to making a game for western audiences, but when you pepper in murder, mystery, and a boatload of mind-bending puzzles, it makes things a bit more interesting. Such is the case of Aksys Games' latest release for the Nintendo DS, "Nine Hours, Nine Persons, Nine Doors," where you have to use your brain to escape a madman's sinking ship.

Three years ago Namco Bandai did the unthinkable; they took Pac-Man and made him relevant again with the release of the Xbox Live exclusive "Pac-Man Championship Edition" (some people were so excited they celebrated by dressing up). The radical update to the beloved franchise kept the original's core, ghost-munching mechanics and updated the gameplay to create a wild new experience. Building on the success of that release, Namco Bandai has kicked off the release of their Namco Generations series with "Pac-Man Championship Edition DX," fueled with the hope that gamers will never get tired of munching pellets.

After one of the most tumultuous releases in recent memory, the new and improved "NBA Jam" has finally made its way to the HD consoles six weeks after landing on the Wii. The Xbox 360 and PS3 versions offer little in the way of new gameplay, but they do include one unfortunately missing feature from the Wii version; online play. While most of my original review still holds true, I wanted to revisit the game, and see whether or not the changes that EA included help improve on an already enjoyable experience.

I know I'm not alone in my fondness for the "Donkey Kong Country" games. Few franchises better represented the highs of the SNES era than "DKC," and its subsequent sequels managed visuals and gameplay never before seen on the platform. Unfortunately, since 1996's "Donkey Kong Country 3," the closest we've seen to a follow-up was "Donkey Kong's Jungle Beat," a platformer which required that players use bongo controllers. The wait for a true sequel ends now, though, as "Donkey Kong Country Returns" is absolutely a return to form. But has Kong aged gracefully?

Over the last few years, Sega has had their mascot play a host of different roles, from a knight to brawler, and just about everything in between. Unfortunately his versatility hasn't really panned out so well. The third game in two months to bear the name of the blue hedgehog, "Colors" attempts to mix the successful elements of Sonic's recent games with a few new tricks.

Earlier this year, I was able to check out Astro's A30 headset. Astro is known as one of the most popular headset brands for professional gamers, but the earlier A40 model was simply too bulky for casual use. Astro's answer was to make the A30s, which were smaller and more portable. And even though they sounded great, there was a problem. As a glasses-wearer, it's tough to wear headsets for longer than a half hour, as the pressure for the ear cups starts to get uncomfortable. So I recommended the A30's to everyone but glasses-wearers. Thankfully, those myopic souls now have an alternative.

id Software really, really wants to bring first person shooters to the iPhone. They've already released three of them, not counting their first-person RPG spin-offs, and now they've brought their new IP, "RAGE" to the platform in the form of "Mutant Bash TV." It's a remarkable visual feat, but I'm still getting the impression that id is trying to shoehorn a genre onto a platform that simply can't handle it.